Parliament to debate abolition of Executive Presidency today

Parliament would debate a motion calling for the abolition of Executive Presidency today when it meets on the first occasion after the reappointment of UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe as the Prime Minister, sources said.

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which played a pivotal role in ousting the Mahinda Rajapaksa Government, would move an adjournment motion calling for this, according to sources.

It is a step towards the enactment of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution to prune further the powers of the Executive Presidency. The draft legislation has already been presented in Parliament as a private member’s bill by JVP MP Vijitha Herath.

Mr Herath told the Daily Mirror yesterday that his party would move an adjournment motion calling for the abolition of Executive Presidency.

“We have already handed over the motion to be debated,” he said. (Kelum Bandara)